KRISTIE RIEKEN
AP Sports Writer
HOUSTON (AP) — Houston rookie George Springer, who has been out since July 20 with a left quadriceps injury, won’t play again this season.
There was some hope that Springer might return for the last few games of the season, but interim manager Tom Lawless said on Tuesday that they decided to shut him down.
Lawless said that team officials and Springer came to the decision together and decided that getting a few more at-bats this season wasn’t worth the risk of having a setback.
“He’s going to go about (things) and take BP and rehab and keep doing his things here,” Lawless said. “When the season is over he’s going to leave here healthy and when he comes to spring training he’ll be ready to go.”
That doesn’t mean that Springer wasn’t taking it hard.
“For me it’s tough and being a player and a competitor I want to play,” he said. “But at the same time you have to protect yourself and sometimes you have to do things you don’t want to do.”
He was asked if he’s surprised that he’s been out for so long with what the team called a strained quadriceps.
“I’ve never had this before so I can’t really say if it’s surprising,” he said. “I don’t know. It’s a part of me that I use all the time so it’s tough. But I just have to go with it and get healthy.”
Springer, who was the 11th overall pick in the 2011 draft, hit .231 with 20 homers and 51 RBIs in 78 games.
He’s disappointed that his season was cut so short, but is encouraged by what he was able to do during his time in the lineup.
“It’s been a great experience so far,” he said. “I obviously have a lot more to learn. I could have done better overall but in my 300 at-bats I’ve learned and I’ve grown and I think I can go off of that into 2015.”
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